Tag Archives: 3rd & lindsley

Country singer Maggie Rose cut her musical teeth performing in a Bruce Springsteen cover band as a teenager. Now she’s turning heads with another sonic surprise – a dark single where the heroine dies by lethal injection.

A Nashville resident for six years, Rose found “Looking Back Now” - which was originally titled “Whiskey and a Gun” - during her first year in Music City. She knew immediately that she wanted to record it.

“The storytelling aspect of country music is what drew me to Nashville,” she said.

“'Whiskey and a Gun’ was one of those songs that upon the first listen that it was definitely my story to tell. It’s one of those songs that makes you feel something … makes you feel bad for sympathizing with a character that isn’t very sympathetic. I figured it would be an honor to tell that story.”

Love and Theft's Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson on the red carpet at the ASCAP Country Music Awards at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel (photo: Samuel M. Simpkins/The Tennessean)

Country chart toppers Love and Theft have had hits with songs including “Angel Eyes” and “Run Away” and have opened for country super stars including Brad Paisley and Tim McGraw. The duo, which is signed to Sony Music Nashville, is working on its third album and has reenlisted the help of producer Josh Leo, who was also at the helm of members’ last album. Love and Theft’s new single “Night You’ll Never Forget” will be sent to country radio in a few weeks. Opening Tuesday’s concert: Mockingbird Sun and Brynn Marie.

After 20 years of penning and performing country hits, James House is ready to rock.

The singer-songwriter known for his 1995 solo hit "This is Me Missing You," and for co-writing smashes like Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing," has formed a bluesy, hard-rocking combo called The Troubadour Kings. The trio - which also features in-demand guitarist Lou Toomey and bassist/producer Michael Bradford - will play 3rd & Lindsley on Sunday to celebrate the release of their new album, "Ghost of Juarez."

"To me, it's just music," House tells The Tennessean. "Both genres are part of me. It allows me to write a different kind of song, and express myself, and that's why I really wanted to do it. There was no setting out like we're gonna conquer the world, or anything. It was just pure 'Let's make some music here.'"

House didn't even set out to start a band. He played some demos he'd been working on for Bradford, who was inspired to add bass to the mix, and after hearing their collaborations, Toomey contributed his guitar work. The band's name was House's wife's idea. He says they were "astounded" when they discovered it hadn't been trademarked.

"'Kings' is kind of pretentious," House says with a laugh. "But it sounded good."

He’s was rocking his beard long before that show hit the airwaves, and on Thursday, he’s having a little Halloween party named after one of his most striking features.

Stapleton, a country singer and hit country songwriter, will ramp up his natural hillbilly spooky for his first ever Beards, Boos and Brews event at 3rd & Lindsley on Thu., October 31. He hopes to make it an annual event.

“I’m hoping a lot of guys with beards will show up,” said Stapleton, a former member of the Grammy-nominated The SteelDrivers who has written songs including Kenny Chesney’s “Never Wanted Nothing More.”

“Maybe people will even wear fake beards. It’s becoming a theme.”

Stapleton said he plans to play a mix of music ranging from country to rock, and songs he’s written as well as songs he wish he could claim. He plans to pull some friends up on stage to jam with him and promises it will be “some kind of Halloween fun.”

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “That’s part of the fun of it.”

Stapleton’s debut country single “What Are You Listening To” is now on the radio and available at iTunes.

“The artists inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame created the foundation that our industry is built on,” said Marc Rucker, a member of the Board of Directors for the Young Entertainment Professionals Network. “We want to pay tribute to them and make sure their legacy is remembered and revered for generations to come.”

Tickets, which are on sale now, are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. To buy tickets, visit www.3rdandlindsley.com.

Kim Richey did that a couple of weeks ago, not in a fit of sugared gluttony but in a fit of Wi-Fi necessity. Her lovely, melodic “Thorn in My Heart” album is newly out in both the United States and in Europe, and she had to send a bevy of emails coordinating cross-continental tour information.

Ohio-bred, Richey moved to Nashville in 1988, which statisticians estimate to be a quarter-century ago. Richard Bennett produced her solo debut, “Kim Richey,” in 1995, and she charted four country singles in the 1990s. But Richey has mostly made her mark either as the writer of four Top 10 country hits for others or as the author of enticing, critically acclaimed albums that showcase her inventive melodies and a voice that is powerful but never unduly athletic, sensitive but never shrinking.

All this to say that she’s really good, and that people are interested in what she does, but not to say that she has minions of lackeys who can do the planning and correspondence that would keep her from Dunkin’ Donuts marathons.

It was a last-minute addition to this year's Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival - a show at 3rd & Lindsley featuring "Nashville" musical directors/contributors Colin Linden and Buddy Miller, along with "surprise cast members" from the ABC primetime drama.

It turned out those "surprise cast members" included virtually every musical member of the show's cast, all the way up to its biggest stars - Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere - who both made their live Music City debuts at the end of Tuesday night's show.

Britton (who plays country star Rayna Jaymes) joined Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne) to perform a song from a future episode called "At the End of the Day," and Panettiere shared the stage with local songsmith and frequent "Nashville" contributor Kate York to sing "Telescope."

Newcomer Chris Carmack - who's set to make his debut as "Will" on Wednesday night's episode - also made an appearance. Non-singing castmates Robert Wisdom and Judith Hoag were among the friends cheering them on.

Several more "Nashville" songwriters took the stage throughout the evening, including Gary Nicholson, Tyler James and Sarah Buxton.

Palladio, who plays Gunnar Scott on the primetime television series, performed at the club to a packed house, including some “Nashville” cast and crew. Among those attending was Nashville’s Steve Buchanan, an executive producer for the show. A camera man was there capturing the action, particularly when Clare Bowen — who plays Gunnar’s songwriting and duo partner Scarlett O’Connor on “Nashville” — was introduced on stage for a surprise appearance.

The duo performed their show single “If I Didn’t Know Better,” along with Palladio’s simple band, which consisted of a female violinist, female upright bassist and a box drummer.

Though Palladio opened for Doyle, most of the crowd left after the “Nashville” star’s set. Palladio remained, joining the crowd and singing all of Doyle’s lyrics enthusistically with his girlfriend Chloe Bennet (who plays his ex-girlfriend, Hailey, on the show), affectionately tucked under his arm.

When the WannaBeatles had their hopes of winning a Grammy for best spoken word album dashed by Betty White in 2012, the Nashville-based Beatles tribute band took the loss in stride, saluting the veteran actress with a new original tune "Oh Betty! (The Betty White Song)."

Now, in celebration of White's 91st birthday, the band is throwing a "Betty White Birthday Bash" on January 17 at 3rd & Lindsley, where they'll treat guests to a performance of that tune (and their cache of Beatles classics), as well as an appearance by the "golden-haired Betty White Dancers."

The show takes place from 7-9 p.m., and admission is $10 at the door with part of the proceeds going to the Nashville Humane Association.

Fans are encouraged to record a video birthday greeting to White and share it at www.facebook.com/thewannabeatles. The band will award the most creative contestant with an autographed photo from White and a free meal at Puckett's Grocery.

White will not be attending the Nashville concert, but fans can catch her on prime time TV this Tuesday with the season premiere of "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" on NBC.

Not only is Victor Wooten one of the world’s most renowned bass players, but he also might be the busiest. The Middle Tennessee resident and five-time Grammy winner is releasing two new albums on September 25, which were self-produced at his own Vix Mix Studios.

But first, he had to finish his eighth and final music camp of 2012 at his 150-acre Wooten Woods property in Only, Tenn., where campers hone their musical skills and also get in touch with their natural side through everything from fire-making to hut-building and meditation classes.

Wooten says he feels at home on property like the North Carolina farms his parents grew up on, and believes that being one with nature is key to becoming a better player.

“We’re all trying to be natural at whatever it is that we do,” he says. “When you meet someone that’s (talented), you say, ‘Wow, he’s a natural.’ You don’t have to teach a bird how to sing. A tree doesn’t have to learn which way to grow. And that’s what we’re all aspiring to be, whether we realize it or not.”